A Hero's Return
by mmiab
Summary: Set after Ocarina of Time and Majora's Mask, this is a story about Link's return to Hyrule and what becomes of it. Should be a bit darker than most Zelda games, hopefully it turns out alright. Lots of non-canon stuff will be here. Reviews are appreciated, let me know what you think. I don't own anything Zelda-related, this is just for fun and not for profit.


As the sunrise slowly streaked across the land, it illuminated two figures atop a grassy hill overlooking a large, sandy expanse below. The first was a young man in brown breeches and a green tunic. He stood in a ready position, two long, curved swords hanging in his hands. His chest was heaving as he took quick, ragged breaths. Blood was splattered across nearly every inch of his body, from his boots to the blonde hair atop his head, but he wore a grim smile as he turned towards his companion.

The other figure was lounging against a fallen log, looking for all the world like he'd just woken up from a long and fulfilling nap. He was dressed in ragged black robes that covered every inch of his skin and wore a brightly colored mask to hide his face. It was brightly colored with large orange eyes, no mouth, and different colored spikes protruding from the sides.

The man wearing the mask slowly stood and stretched, letting a fierce yawn out as he turned towards his companion.

"Fine," he grumbled, "You win."

The young man laughed and said, "You have to say it."

More grumbling and a few unmentionable words slipped from the masked man's mouth before he continued.

"You were able to kill them all without my help, you lasted the entire night, you're the greatest swordsman in the land, et cetera, et cetera," the masked man said, saying every word in mock exultation. As he finished, he turned his eyes to the field below them and examined the results of the night.

It was littered with bodies, the ruddy glint of blood visible across the open field. Not that these men deserved any less. Slavers were a blight on the world, and no remorse would be given them.

They'd been following the slavers for most of the previous day, waiting for them to rest for the evening. Once they had, it was only a matter of time before they fell asleep.

Turning back towards his companion, the masked man said slyly, "I think my evil nature is rubbing off on you, Link."

The young man in green threw him a look of mock disdain before smiling and countering, "The only evil in you is laziness, and you're much too lazy to try to corrupt me that way."

The masked man huffed and crossed his arms before saying "I can be evil, don't say I can't."

"You forget, I know you too well," the young man in green laughed, giving his companion a hearty pat on the back. His companion muttered something incomprehensible before laughing lightly.

The man in green, who was indeed named Link, turned the opposite direction of the carnage from the night before and surveyed the sandy landscape in front of him.

"Shouldn't be too many days until we're back," he mused after a moment, his eyes clouded with deep thought.

The masked man was still looking at the results of the night prior and said, "Were you planning on cleaning up your mess?"

Link snapped out of his haze and turned to the masked man. It was a fair question.

"No," Link said after a moment, "We're far enough into the desert that they won't last too long. Either the sandstorms or predators will clean up for us."

The masked man sighed before replying, "Good, there was no way I was going to help you drag them away. I need my energy."

Link smiled at the man, but held back his retort. The man's laziness was always amusing.

"We're starting to run low on supplies," Link said, his tone changing from mirth to seriousness. "It might be better for me to go alone."

"Yeah," the masked man sighed, "I figured you'd say that." His tone changed to one of mock solemnity. "Well," he said, puffing out his chest and extending his arm. "It has been a pleasure travelling with you, and I hope to see you someday down the road."

Smiling while he shook his hand, Link then gave the man an exaggerated formal bow. To an onlooker, this sarcastic departure would have seemed strange, but the two men were greatly amused by their inside joke.

"Until next time," Link smirked as he reached to the man's face and removed the mask. As he pulled, the man's robes seemed to fall apart before dissipating into a black mist that then itself dissipated.

Placing the mask in the bag by the log near where his companion had previously slept, he pulled it onto his back and starting his walk away from the carnage of the previous night and further into the desert.

A few hours later, Link was deep in thought as he slowly trudged through the blistering heat of the Gerudo desert. He was still near the western edge, which meant he had nearly two days of walking before he'd reach the Gerudo fortress and officially be in Hyrule.

It had been years since he'd been home. After he'd defeated Ganondorf and returned to his own time, the peace he'd fought for seemed to push in on him until he couldn't stand it. Adventuring was in his blood, and that was what he did. He'd taken the first excuse he'd found and headed into the Lost Woods to look for Navi.

_I never did find her,_ he thought sadly, remembering for a moment the energetic fairy.

But he did find Termina, and with it, another cause to fight for. And when he emerged from that world with nothing to show for it but his memories, he held his head high and smiled.

If there was one thing the Hero of Time loved, it was saving people. He was more or less born for it.

So he travelled, first to the South, then to the West, then north. He was ten when he set out, and after eight years, he felt ready to come home. He'd helped everyone he could find, defeated as many forces of evil as he could, and he finally felt ready for a break. Hopefully the peace he'd restored in Hyrule remained.

_That's not the only reason you're coming home_, a little voice in his head said mischievously.

The truth was, he missed her. Princess Zelda had a very special place in his heart, and not seeing her for seven years had made that special place feel more like a hole: a hole that he needed to repair.

_And it's only a coincidence that you're both the age you were before she sent you back in time?_

The little voice was, annoyingly, correct. Deep down, there was a selfish and most likely nonsensical part of him that was hoping that maybe seeing him as he was when they fought together against Ganondorf would rekindle whatever feelings she might have had for him. It was silly, and he knew that, but his heart still seemed to be yanking him back home to see her.

He relapsed into the memories he had of her as the sun rose ever higher in the sky. He didn't know why he had this obsession with the princess. Maybe it was because she was the first one he ever had those feelings for, and the weight of their situation had prevented him from expressing those feelings. Maybe she was just that unique. Whatever it was, the people he'd met on his travels, even the prettiest girls, couldn't seem to distract him from her.

As the day passed, he continued to walk, distracted from the difficult journey by the plethora of ways he could see them reuniting. Before he knew it, the sun was headed down behind him and he stopped to make camp for the evening. Further on he could just make out the Desert Colossus, his destination. Arriving at the location of the Spirit Temple would make it much easier to pinpoint the Gerudo's fortress instead of trying to head straight towards it.

He slept soundly that night, the exhaustion of desert travel pushing through any anxiety he had about finally returning home.

The next day continued much the same, ending in the arrival at the Desert Colossus at nightfall. Rather than trying to make the last leg of the journey in the dark, Link began setting up camp. Once the preparations were complete, he lit a fire, set a pot of water to boil while he filled the pair of waterskins that were very nearly depleted, and began to make supper. Once everything was in the pot and cooking, he sat down and opened his bag.

The first thing he pulled out was the mask. He ran a finger over the front, allowing himself to dwell temporarily on his memories.

_Lot of work to get this,_ he thought, _There's a lot of evil in this mask's past._

Both were true. It had been a very difficult journey, and it was a risky thing to mess with. Luckily, Link knew what he was doing.

After a few more moments of thought, he flipped the mask around and put it to his face.

A sharp jolt of pain shot through his spine as his vision faded to black for a moment. Then, it was over. Next to him stood the black-robed man with his face covered by the mask.

He yawned and scratched his armpit.

_Definitely not evil now,_ Link smirked.

"Hello Majora," Link said with a smile on his face.

The masked man turned to him mid-scratch and cocked his head.

"Why do you insist on calling me that?" He asked, slightly irritated. "You know that's not who I am."

Link nodded.

"I know," he said, "But that's how I see you. It's easier that way."

The masked man nodded in turn.

"Fair enough," he murmured, focusing on the pot boiling over the flames. "Stew?" He asked hopefully, bending over to smell.

Link laughed at him as he tried to taste it, lifting the mask slightly to give room for a spoon and in turn burning his mouth.

_Definitely not evil, _he thought to himself, _Lazy, gluttonous, but definitely not evil._

After dishing the stew out into small bowls for each of them, they ate in comfortable silence. Afterwards, Link pulled out the tan ocarina he'd received from Saria so many years ago and began to play. After a few minutes of simple notes to warm up, he began to slowly play the song of the temple that lay just a few dozen feet from them. The masked man listened quietly as the young man in green lost himself to the music, playing through it once, twice, and again until the entire desert seemed to be following his lead.

As the notes died, Link pulled the ocarina from his lips and gave his companion a quizzical look.

"What's with the staring?" He asked, puzzled. The masked man shrugged nonchalantly.

"It almost seems like that song was made for this place, it fit so perfectly."

Link nodded, staring intently at the campfire's flames.

"It was," he said, not bothering to explain himself further.

The masked man didn't press further, instead opting to ask about the next day's journey.

"We'll make it to the Gerudo Fortress by midday," Link said determinedly. "Hopefully they'll be welcoming."

"Hmph," the masked man snorted in derision, "Because if there's one thing everyone knows about the Gerudo it's that they have great hospitality."

Link smiled at the man before continuing.

"Fair enough," he said, "But unless there's been a change in leadership, I know their matriarch and she'll be a bit more friendly."

"And if not," the masked man moped, "We'll have to fight our way through them. Joy."

Link scoffed at him.

"How often do I make you fight?" He asked, giving the man a disparaging look. "I usually just let you sleep."

"Only because you get some perverse pleasure out of swinging those big stupid swords around!" The masked man yelled in mock anger. "Are you overcompensating for something?"

"Oh please," Link yelled back, a smile threatening to break out on his face. "You're the one with the baggy robes, trying to hide what isn't there!"

"Why you!" He yelled, "I'm just trying to be modest and not intimidate you with how good I look! I'm just trying to give you a shot with the girls we meet, and this is the thanks I get?"

Link fell over laughing at this, and the masked man continued to yell at him. This continued until they both fell asleep exhausted.

The next day, they both rose shortly after dawn. One of them was more willing than the other. As they began packing and scattering the ashes from the night before, their topic of conversation again turned to the Gerudo.

"So did you ever try to flirt with any of them when you were an adult last time?" The masked man asked coyly.

"That probably wouldn't have ended well," Link said, shaking his head. "They're not the type of people to be pursued."

"Ah, so they like to do the pursuing?" The man asked with humor in his voice. "Just as well for me, you know how much I hate work."

Link sighed. The man was incorrigible, but at least he was entertaining.

"Good luck with it," Link said with a sigh. "They might be more than you bargained for."

"Yeah, we'll see about that," he said with a smirk before turning to look at something in the distance. "Speak of the devil..." He muttered.

Link turned quickly to look and saw a small group of women in white heading for them.

"Damn," he muttered, "Looks like a group of priestesses."

"Hey!" The masked man said with false enthusiasm. "And we're outsiders camping out at their sacred temple! I bet they love when people do that."

"Shut up," Link sighed. "Be ready, we'll try to talk our way out of this, but follow my lead."

"I need to find someone else to journey with," the masked man moaned, "You are entirely too dangerous to be around."


End file.
